Visiting the neighbours

Little B was beside himself: little M next door had invited him over to play t-ball in his backyard.

"Mom! Mom! Can I go?" He asked repeatedly.

Simone had a million things to do. "You have to eat your dinner first," she said at last.

Little B made a face but complied. "I feel sick," he informed Simone near the end of his meal.

"If you feel sick, you can't go play with little M," Simone pointed out reasonably.

Little B made another face but finished his meal in silence. He dutifully cleared his plate from the table without being asked and turned to his mother. "Now can I go?"

"Yes," Simone agreed. "You can go." She walked little B over to the neighbour's and went home to finish her chores.

She'd just sat down to dinner when the doorbell rang repeatedly. "I guess he's done," Simone muttered. She headed toward the door, a little surprised that little B would only want to play for twenty minutes.

Little M's older sister, little K, stood alone at the door. "Hurry! Little B threw up three times! He's really sick but he doesn't want to go home!"

Simone dutifully hurried over. The poor little guy sat, surrounded by a BIG mess. "I don't want to go home!"

Little M chimed him. "I don't want him to go home." He reconsidered. "Can I go home with little B?"

Simone shook her head. After some intense negotiations, it was agreed that the boys could play the following day, provided everyone was healthy. Then Simone bundled little B off to take a bath.

"Race you to the top of the stairs?" Little B suggested. Maybe it was just the excitement of visiting a friend that tossed his stomach...